These Old Houses
The Classic Cinemas Story: 17 Theaters in 17 Years

By Jack Helbig

With his smoothly shaven face, receding hairline, and carefully manicured nails, Willis Johnson looks like any other middle-aged executive. But get the president of Classic Cinemas on his favorite topic - old movie houses, especially old movie houses his company has purchased and restored - and his eyes sparkle, his face becomes animated, his gestures become broader and less controlled. Suddenly the man speaking in the steady drone of a CFO delivering news at a board meeting sounds like an enthusiastic, articulate 14-year-old as he delivers cool facts and bits of history.

Sitting in the art deco lobby of the York cinema in Elmhurst - built in 1924, purchased by Classic in 1984 and renovated in 1991 - Johnson flits from topic to topic. He points out that the theater's original Spanish decor has been restored, and notes that the shiny brass light fixtures, taken from theoriginal theater, now hang in the lobby and on the walls of two of the five screening rooms.

"We came to the York in 1982 as tenants," he says. "The landlord went bankrupt in 1984, and we bought the building. You know you read accounts that the York was struck by lightning? Not true. They just didn't maintain the roof. Water got into the pockets where the big trusses [holding up the roof] sat. Over the years the ends rotted off, and then two of them fell in. There were two ways to fix it-come down from the roof or up through the ceiling." Naturally Johnson did it the right way. "We went up through the ceiling. The theater was closed for a year while we worked on it."

Johnson gets excited whenever he talks about any of the 16 first- and second-run movie houses in the Classic Cinemas chain, which he runs with his wife, Shirley, and son, Chris. Among the movie-palace jewels they own or lease are the Arcada in St. Charles, the Paramount in Kankakee, and the chain's flagship theater, the Tivoli in Downers Grove. Not all the housesare gems. But Johnson treats even the company's homelier 60s- and 70s-era multiplexes-the Ogden 6 in Naperville, the Cinema 12 in Carpentersville-like historical landmarks, renovating and refurbishing them.

One such theater is the Elk Grove, opened in 1972 as part of the Jerry Lewis chain. "I don't know if you remember them," Johnson says, "but the theater closed a year later, and for a long time it wasn't used as a theater." It had no seats, screen, or projection equipment. Classic Cinemas leased the place in 1986, got it into operating condition, and reopened it in 1987. After purchasing the building in 1997, the company renovated it again, adding screens and an imposing lobby with chandeliers.

Johnson fell into the movie business when he was in his early 40s-and it soon took over his life. Born and raised in Downers Grove, he grew up thinking he would work at the International Harvester plant in Melrose Park like his father. In the 40s and 50s, Johnson explains, "There were two main employers in Downers Grove, International Harvester and Western Electric. My family had a long history with International Harvester." He worked there for a while just out of high school, then went to college at Western Michigan University. He returned to International Harvester afterward, but the company was having a tough time, laying off a lot of people.

The story first appeared in the September 14, 2001, Reader's Guide. Reprinted with permission of Jack Helbig. Copyright 2001 Jack Helbig.

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